Lancashire Police Ancestors

If your ancestors served in the Lancashire police before 1925, you may be able to find them in the Police Records Search engine at http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/education/record_office/records/policesearch.asp

"This database provides a list of names of police officers, particularly those who served with the Lancashire County Constabulary from the force's inception in 1840 up to 1925. ......
The database also includes names of officers who served in some Lancashire borough police forces: Rochdale, Southport, Preston and Wigan, among other towns and cities in the county, had their own police forces at various times......" (http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/education/record_office/records/police.asp)

You can find some fascinating insights into the policing life from its start in Lancashire in "The History of Policing in Lancashire" at http://www.lancashirepolfed.org.uk/about/force.pdf
This paper includes a listing of 85 police officers who died on duty 1840 to 1990, as well as a detailed listing of the changes in uniform and what they meant.

 

And what a wealth of information they provided me with of my policeman relative Robert HUTCHESON (1876-1960) who served with the Lancashire Constabulary during 1902-1905 before returning to Scotland. One detail given was his reason for asking for a transfer in 1904 "....he wanted to be stationed near the seaside....". He achieved this and moved, at his own cost, to Blackpool.